Issue Position: ObamaCare

Issue Position

Healthcare in the world's wealthiest nation is a human right. That 47,000 people die annually here because they can't afford it is a travesty, a blot on our national character. Can you imagine being in a hospital parking lot, knowing that if you just had a card with the right logo, one with Hartford's antlers, Allstate's good hands, or Traveler's umbrella, you could walk through the doors and get the treatment that would allow you to live and be with your family for the rest of your normal life? In any other Western country, there would be no travail in the parking lot, nor the anguish of Gethsemane before a crucification on a cross of blue. You would go in, be treated, get better, and go home. You would live.

Each American deserves no less.

The bill passing Obamacare is complex and lengthy beyond belief. Obamacare requires that we buy insurance from a private company, one that Congress has exempted from the anti-trust laws. Obamacare does not cap premiums. There is no competing public option that would allow consumers to buy into a Medicare-type plan.

When the passage of Obamacare became imminent, the stocks of private healthcare comapnies surged 10% over just six trading sessions, making a mockery of the Tea Party notion that Obamacare is a step toward Socialism.

If elected to Congress, I would advocate Medicare for all. We have Social Security for old age, so let's have Health Security for the sick. We can finance this plan through a 4% contribution from both the employer and employee. The funds will accrue just like Social Security funds do, as every worker contributes and then draws them in times of sickness. Having a single set of forms, instead of 412, will reduce paperwork and overhead, thereby freeing up more money for the personnel and institutions that actually treat the ill.

When all American workers coalesce into a single bargaining unit, they will have the leverage to cut the price of every medical service, drug prescription, and piece of medical equipment. Together, the American people can prevent healthcare costs from consuming nearly 20% of our Gross Domestic Product.

When we relieve the private sector of the burden of buying healthcare insurance for their employees, American exports will become more competitive with Europe's and Japan's, where healthcare costs are not a factor in export pricing. Gone would be the incentive for businesses to discriminate against the older and disabled in the workforce, a benefit that will redound to the judiciary, now free of expensive and time-consuming litigation. Bankruptcy filings will fall by 50% because this plan pays all medical bills. Please feel free to comment on my proposals.

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